hindu temple fractals - vastu n carl jung

7/28/2019 Hindu Temple Fractals - Vastu n Carl Jung

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"As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks fly forth, each one looking self-similar to

its source, So from the Eternal comes a great variety of things, and they all return tothe Eternal finally." Mundaka Upanishad II.1.1

This webpage explores fractal aspects of Hindu temple architecture, examiningmultiple archetypes and geometry of recursion. It is primarily about architecturaldesign, religious symbolism and imagination. It concerns religious imaginationinvolved in some of the ideas and plans used in Hindu temples. It is not intended tospeak to issues of social justice, or economic questions. It is not intended to implythat all temples are the same, or that all temples are perfect institutions. Other studiesexist which treat those topics. This short study can offer only a cursory suggestion ofthe intricasies of the symbol system, the modes of measuring units and proportions,and the reflection of the whole in some of the parts.

OPENING QUESTION

Gazing upon a variety of Hindu temples, one again and again encounters recursiveshapes. One sees fractal-like spires (shikharas), and other parts of the architecture

HINDU TEMPLE FRACTALS by William J . J ackson, Department ofReligious Studies, IUPUI

Opening Question The Idea of Multiple Archetypes

Symbolized In Abstract Form Overview of the Complex of Symbolic

Meanings Fractal Mountain Universe The Many and the One The Ultimate Purpose Dark Cave as Archetypal Womb and

Heart of Light The Hindu Temple Sanctuary as Cave Encountering the Cosmic Person's

Identity Interactive Functions of Fractals in the

Hindu Temple Complex Around, Inward, Upward at KandariyaTemple

Sketch of akolam designin rice powderseen on athreshold in

Tiruvanamalai,South India,December1999.

Pag 1 of 3Hindu Temple Fractal

1 -Fe -1http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/~wijackso/tempfrac


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which are self-similar to the unity of the whole. Not all Hindu temples are like this bua great many are. Why are these features so common?

That is, what are these recursive patterns of self-similar forms "saying"? Why is thiskind of shape used and not another? What patterns from nature might be involved?What archetypal(1) images, unlabelled metaphors, and worldview meanings, whatphilosophical and metaphysical concepts are being expressed? What religiousexperience and spiritual orientation does this form bespeak? How does the geometryexpress the highest visions of human life and the nature of the human being, theultimate destiny as understood in the living traditions of Hinduism? How can we readthe meanings, analyze the information coded in the mathematics of this "frozenmusic"? Although we do not wish to imply that Hindu temple design is moremonolithic than it actually is, since there are variations both in historical eras andgeographical areas, we can generalize about features often or usually found. Thisstudy has two objectives-- to elucidate the basic symbolic meanings of Hindu templearchitecture and to examine the fractal aspects of temple design. We will confineourselves to the basics.(2)

Linedrawing ofthe

Kandariyatemple inKhajuraho.

Drawingfrom StellaKramrisch'sbook, TheHindu

Temple

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THE IDEA OF MULTIPLE ARCHETYPES SYMBOLIZED IN ABSTRACT

FORMS

It is necessary to consider some basic aspects of the Hindu worldview, overarchingand undergirding worldview concepts, to see how they form the background ofspecific sacred buildings in India. Those who are unfamiliar with Hinduism may notexpect a simultaneous complex of ideas expressed in a massive structure. One mightexpect a single motif in a sacred structure-- a temple in the shape of a chariot, or achurch shaped like a ship with an up-pointed prow --and such one-theme structuresdo exist. But there are also Gothic cathedrals with designs that include a forest ofspires, a floorplan which is cross-shaped, a rose window above the main altar andmany other forms--statues and symbolic art works-- displaying a combination ofthemes.

The Hindu temple typically involves a multiple set of ideas. Perhaps Hindu traditionalarchitecture has more symbolic meanings than other cultures. It certainly is highly

articulated. The temple is oriented to face East, the auspicious direction where thesun rises to dispel darkness. The temple design includes the archetypal image of aCosmic Person spread out yogi-like, symmetrically filling the gridded space of thefloor plan, his navel in the center, and it includes the archetype of the cosmicmountain, between earth and heaven, of fertility, planets, city of the gods, deities,etc.). One encounters these simultaneous archetypal themes and meaningsconveyed (and hidden) in the semi-abstract forms in many Hindu temples. There arerules of shape and proportion in the authoritative texts of Hindu tradition (shastrasand agamas) which give birth to a variety of complex temple designs. The BrihatSamhita text (4th century CE) says the temple should reflect cormic order. To

understand the uses of recursive geometrical forms involving self-similarity ondifferent scales (fractals) in the Hindu temple complex we will need to explore someof these deep images and their uses.

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OVERVIEW OF THE COMPLEX OF SYMBOLIC MEANINGS

As we have indicated, there are a number of symbolisms combined in the Hindutemple. In fact the Hindu temple is a fusion of archetypes consciously combined and

skillfully crafted into structures of abstract geometry and specific numbers. It is agrand synthesis which solves architectural problems using concepts from thecharacteristically Hindu religious vision of cosmic order. The temple is a visible signof that mystery, an access point designed to solve life's problems.

We will begin with the most apparent -- the rising temple towers with their high peaks.An important Sanskrit word for temple, vimana, literally means "well proportioned,finely organized, a harmonious whole." Prasada is another word for the main body ofthe temple's superstructure.

FRACTAL MOUNTAIN UNIVERSE

One of the most famous tightrope walkers living today said: "To look up elevates thesoul; to watch a falcon take flight from the cornice of a building is to envy its freedom,to consider the world from a loftier perspective. We need altitude as much as weneed oxygen. To be surrounded by things of great height -- mountain peaks orskyscrapers -- reminds us of our fragility but also inspires us to reach for the clouds,to take our measure and to stretch it."(3) These observations speak to strongsensibilities in human experience, and usefully broach the topic of the significance ofgreat heights. For countless generations, mountains existing as upthrustgeographical areas of higher elevation have nurtured the religious imagination byenticing people with the possibilities of drawing closer to the sky, a realm beyond thehuman being's usual earthbound reach. Around the world, wherever mountains existas geographical features of the environment, there are ancient associations -- ideasof reaching up to heaven, contacting a higher spiritual realm.(4) We think of theHimalayas, Olympus, Fuji, Sinai, T'ien-t'ai, and the temple mount in J erusalem, aswell as holy mountains in the Andes, to name but a few.

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In the Hindu experience the idea of the archetypal mountain of existence ismythologized in the cosmic mountain named Meru, the mythological center or navelof the universe. Temple scholar and historian George Michell writes: "In thesuperstructure of the Hindu temple, perhaps its most characteristic feature, theidentification of the temple with the mountain is specific, and the superstructure itselfis known as a 'mountain peak' or 'crest' (shikhara). The curved contours of sometemple superstructures and their tiered arrangements owe much to a desire tosuggest the visual effect of a mountain peak."(5)The fractal structure of somemountains has been researched and discussed by analysts-- self-similar angles ofsloping stone are often observable once one has acquired "an eye for fractals."(6)

In North India the superstructure is "a solid tower with curvilinear vertical ribs, bulgingin the middle and ending in a very narrow necking covered by a distinct ribbed pieceof round stone known as amalaka."(7) Temples in South India (an area of about 20%of the subcontinent) typically have a more pyramid-shaped tower, composed of

"gradually receding stories divided by horizontal bands, and ending in a dome... orbarrel-shaped ridge."(8) South Indian Dravidian culture was already highly evolvedbefore Sanskritic influences arrived from the North-- this accounts for the differentstyles. In the South tall gateway towers (called gopuras) form entrances to the templecompound; they attained a greater height than the temple superstructure.

Here are examples -- one of each kind.

Mountainsprefigurethe sacredsanctuariesaround theworld.

Photos byHerb Tobin




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While there are a number of variations on the mountain shape in Indian temples,nevertheless "the purpose of the superstructure is always one and the same. It is tolead from a broad base to a single point where all lines converge. In it are gatheredthe multifarious movements, the figures and symbols which are their carriers, in the

successive strata of the ascending pyramidal or curvilinear form of thesuperstructure. Integrated in its body they partake, each in its proper place, in theascent which reduces their numbers and leads their diversity to the unity of thepoint."(9) Thus a structure such as the Kandariya Mahadeva temple in Khajurahovisually conveys a recursive sensibility. It is a whole of self-similar peaks clusteredand rising, forming a consistent coherent totality-- the rising slopes of a cosmicmountain. The rising and falling lines lead up to one supreme point of transcendence,symbolic of the ultimate unity which is of supreme importance in many great Hindutraditions. All the features are parts of the ultimate oneness, and so they share thesame style, though on various levels and scales of significance and attainment.(10)

NorthIndian styletemple(left) andSouthIndian styletemple(right).

Left photo byWes Tedrow,right photoby officialtemplephotographer

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THE MANY AND THE ONE

This single-pointed wholeness composed of many self-similar peaks at various pointsin the structure displays a striking fractal quality. Hindus saw fractal-like self-similarities in nature, and intuited recursive geometry as a way to express deeplyphilosophical views.(11) A deep sense of oneness pervades the background of Hindu

thought. The One is praised in various ways in the Rig Veda. In Hinduism the One isthe ultimate reality with many names and forms (such as Agni, Vishnu, Indra, etc.)"The truth is one though inspired sages speak of it variously," one Rig Veda versestates.(12) In fractal geometry wholeness, whether branching, or clustering orotherwise, contains and is contained in, the parts.

Massiveshikhara oftheKandariyatemple,showingself-similarity ofthe one andthe many inarchitectural

features.

Photo fromStellaKramrisch'sbook, TheHindu Temple

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ULTIMATE PURPOSE

"The architecture of the Hindu temple symbolically represents [the quest for moksha--ultimate spiritual liberation, the realization of oneness] by setting out to dissolve the

boundaries between man and the divine. For this purpose certain notions areassociated with the very forms and materials of the building. Paramount is theidentification of the divinity with the fabric of the temple, or, from another point ofview, the identification of the form of the universe [for example the cosmic mountain]with that of the temple. Such an identification is achieved through the form andmeaning of those architectural elements that are considered fundamental to thetemple" which we have mentioned, including mountain, cave, cosmic axis, CosmicPerson or Purusha.(13)

In Hindu temples, the highest point of the superstructure is always located directlyabove the inner sanctum altar,(14) which involves another symbolism, as we shallsee. Sensibilities of the sacred which involve concepts of upwardness andinwardness are thus architecturally linked in Hindu design. The Hindu temple is not "amachine to live in" (as French architect le Corbusier defined a modern house), but amicrocosm in which pilgrims seek to experience the infinite. It is a structure to re-integrate the part with the whole; it's dynamics involve envisioning and symbolicallyinteracting with features that offer access to experiences of heightening anddeepening a sense of the sacred goal and the pilgrim's oneness with it. It is a "tirthamade by art"(15) -- a sacred monument that exists to help the pilgrim cross over tothe other shore.

DARK CAVE AS ARCHETYPAL WOMB AND HEART OF LIGHT

There are often caves in mountains, used from ancient times as places of shelter,and also as quiet places to seek contemplative experiences of withdrawal from theworld. Caves are known around the world as places for inward reflection, recollectionand ritual. Throughout history hermits, sages, monks and yogis have lived in caves inIndia, China and elsewhere.

In legends from J udaism, Abraham while a child hid in a cave for three years. In acentral episode from the stories of Christianity, the crucified J esus was resurrectedfrom a cavern and ascended to heaven on the Mount of Transfiguration. In the Greek

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mystery religions initiates experienced a spiritual rebirth in underground caverns aEleusis. In Islam, Muhammad received his revelation in a cave.

From ancient times Hindu sages meditated in Himalayan caves. (The Sanskrit term isguha.) Upanishads (Hindu spiritual texts) refer to caves as shelters where yogispractice,(16) and also use cave imagery in depicting the presence of the sacred in

the human heart. The sacred is "the primeval one who is hard to perceive, wrapped inmystery, hidden in the cave, residing within the impenetrable depth."(17) Normallyour attention is drawn to the world around us, but "entering the cave of the heart, onesees the one who was born prior to heat and waters, the one who has seen throughliving beings."(18) The nature of this consciousness is described in the Upanishadsas Being, Awareness and Bliss -- sat-chit-ananda. Though beyond description,people describe it as "large, heavenly, of inconceivable form; yet it appears moreminute than the minute. It is farther than the fathest, yet it is near at hand; it is righthere within those who see, hidden within the cave of their heart."(19) In theUpanishadic view the All -- the One-- is found in the secret recess, in the cave in theheart. There one finds the inner core of sacred being, the Atman (Spiritual Self) whichis one with Brahman (infinite formless consciousness). To experience this inner lightand be established in it is the goal, moksha.

THE HINDU TEMPLE SANCTUARY AS CAVE

George Michell explains the importance of the cave in Hindu practices and in templedesign: "The cave is a most enduring image in Hinduism, functioning both as a placeof retreat and as the occasional habitation of the gods. Caves must always havebeen felt to be places of great sanctity and they were sometimes enlarged to providea place of worship... In all Hindu temples the sanctuary is strongly reminiscent of acave; it is invariably small and dark and no natural light is permitted to enter, and thesurface of the walls are unadorned and massive. Penetration towards the image... is

always through a progression from light into darkness, from open and large spaces toa confined and small space. [There are fewer and fewer images, such as sculptures,paintings or decorations, as one goes further toward the sanctuary.] This movementfrom complexity of visual experience to that of simplicity may be interpreted by thedevotee as a progression of increasing sanctity culminating in the focal point of thetemple, the cave or 'womb.'"(20) As a contemporary teacher of Hindu spirituality onceput it, "The inner you go the more it's pure and simple." Cool, quiet, with less sensorystimulation, the sanctuary is an "objective correlative," to use T.S. Eliot's phrase, ofserene deeper consciousness discussed in Hindu philosophy.

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The simplicity of the inner recesses keeps the subjective experience focussed, in theintimacy of silence, to face the mystery of the sacred. Psychologically this deepening

of awareness and awe corresponds to the elevation of the shikhara above:"Accompanying this penetration inwards toward the cave is the ascent upwards to thesymbolic mountain peak, whose summit is positioned over the center of the cave-sanctuary. This means that the highest point of the elevation of the temple is alignedwith the most sacred part of the temple, the center of the inner sanctuary whichhouses the image of the god. Summit and sacred center are linked together along anaxis which is a powerful projection upwards of the forces of energy which radiate fromthe center of the sanctuary."(21) Penetration to the inner unknown is thus at the sametime symbolic of an ascent to enlightenment-- the temple is meant to express andfacilitate this experience.

Image ofHanumanin ashrine inBanaras,withcavelike

darknessin therecess.

Photo byWes

Tedrow

Corridor in theRamanathaSwamy temple,Rameshwaram,Tamil Nadu,South India.The pillars give




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Approach to the garbhagriha, the cave-like cube-shaped "womb room," often involvesrecursive architecture. The pilgrim passing evenly spaced columns experiences arhythmic sensation. "The architectural rhythms of the Hindu temple impart to eachbuilding its consistency and wholeness. They evoke in the devotee an adjustment ofhis person to its structure; his subtle body (sukshma, sharira) responds to theproportions of the temple by an inner rhythmical movement. By this 'aesthetic'emotion the devotee is one with the temple; and qualified to realize the presence ofGod."(22) In the rhythms there is a kind of visual music. To amend Paul Claudel'sfamous verse, music is the soul of [temple] geometry. The name garbhagriha refersto the pilgrim finding his way to this secret inner place and being reborn from it,

emerging later, transformed, into the light.

a sensation ofrecursionsuggestinginfinite depth.

Photo by officialtemplephotographer

Emerginginto thelight from

a SouthIndiantemple.

Photo byMarciaPlant

J ackson




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Unseen, invisible, but used as the conceptual pattern drawn on the floor plan, thearchetype of the Purusha or Cosmic Person, is another feature fundamental to thedesign of the Hindu temple.

ENCOUNTERING THE COSMIC PERSON'S IDENTITY

We have not yet considered the underlying floor plan-- the layout of the base of theHindu temple put in place before the massive edifice is mounted up.

Before considering that geometric plan, it is necessary to recognize certain ideas inthe Hindu outlook. Hindu culture is less enamored of sheer nature than classicalTaoism in China. The word "Sanskrit" suggests high culture, the refined-- not raw andspontaneous but well-shaped, "confected," not amateur but classical. The idea of acave is important, but nature's rough cave, a mere hole in the rock, is refined in thetemple into a smoothened archetype, a well-made shape, deliberatelyrectangularized in form to express an idea. Similarly raw impulses and passions areto be controlled and sublimated in yoga. All of this concern to shape raw nature intorefinement has geometric implications for temple design.

Since the circle is found in nature it is considered too natural to be favored in Hindusacred architecture, which seeks to participate in the divine realm. The square is aconsciously artificed shape. The Hindu temple is based on the square because it isconceptualized as a perfect form. "The circle and curve belong to life in its growth andmovement. The square is the mark of order, of finality to the expanding life, its form;and of perfection beyond life and death."(23) This idea of the circle being less refinedand less perfect than the square may sound odd to moderns, including contemporaryHindus. Ancient symbolism goes back to the original thunderbolt emblem put onIndra's banner by the divine artificer Vishvakarma, and the shapeof the Vedic altarand fire container, and the shape of Mount Meru with the four directions of the fourcastes at its base, and other ancient ideas. The proportions derived from the humanbody with arms outstretched to the sides also form a square. The square isconceptualized as the perfection of the order of creation which encompasses thecircles of time. The circle involves motion, while the square stands for the balance ofdualities. Thus, because of these ancient associations, the squate is the prominentsymbolic shape in architectural forms, as Stella Kramrisch and others have pointedout.

That said, we can explore the meaning of the typical floor plan, the vastupurusha grid

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of 64 or 81 squares, and the cosmic person's outline within the over-all square shape.

The Cosmic Person is sung in Rig Veda hymn X.90, which tells the origin story ofself-sacrifice. In it the divine original person of vast dimensions divided to become thevarious parts of creation. This paradigmatic primal event is recalled and repeatedritually by traditional Hindus whenever they undertake significant actions-- such asplanning a city or a temple. To clear and level land at a sacred site, to ritually purify it,to measure and lay down the foundation lines, orienting the structure to the East,involves conceptualizing the construction as a replication on a different scale than the

original sacrificial scenario. And like the Vedic altar, the construction ritually enactsthe restoration of the Purusha's body.(24)

To use a musical metaphor the vastupurusha mandala is the tonic, the stable tonehumming in the background over which the superstructure melody of forms takesshape. It is a diagram, or yantra, a geometrical device to represent an aspect of thesupreme and make it available to the pilgrim.

"The form of the temple, all that it is and signifies, stands upon the diagram of thevastupurusha. It is a 'forecast' of the temple and is drawn on the levelled ground; it is

the fundament from which the building arises. Whatever its actual surroundings... theplace where the temple is built is occupied by the vastupurusha in his diagram, theVastupurusha mandala.... It is the place for the meeting and marriage of heaven andearth, where the whole world is present in terms of measure, and is accessible toman."(25) The cosmic person became the universe, and to recreate this origin is toconstruct a cosmos which offers a return to the transcendent oneness.

The vastupurusha mandala is a microcosm with some fractal qualities. As shown inthe illustration, there are self-similar squares within squares within squares. The

Image oftheCosmicPerson

drawn inan oldmanualused bytemplearchitects.

DrawingfromGeorgeMichell's

book, TheHindu

Temple




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geometric configuration "of central squares with others surrounding it is taken to be amicroscopic image of the universe with its concentrically organized structure." Thusthe grid at the spatial base and temporal beginning of the temple represents theuniverse, with its heavenly bodies. It is also more-- it simultaneously symbolizes thepantheon of Vedic gods-- "each square [is] a seat of particular deity."(26) The godsaltogether make up the composite body of the Purusha.

The Purusha is the Universal Essence, the Principle behind all things that exist, thePrime Person who is a spirit, the origin of all. "Vastu is the site; in it Vastu, bodilyexistence, abides and from it Vastu derives its name. In bodily existence, Purusha,the Essence, becomes the Form." The temple building rising above the diagram is amassively substantial structure. "The 'plan' mandala is the ritual, diagrammatic[subtle] form of Purusha. Purusha himself has no substance. He gives it hisimpress."(27) The navel (or in some texts, the heart) of the outlined Purusha is in thecenter of the central square of the grid. "In the Purusha, Supernal man, the SupremePrinciple is beheld. Man and Universe are equivalent in this their indwellingcenter...."(28) There is divine city imagery also involved in the grid.(29) There are 32types ofmandalas, an array of configurations of squares in arithmetic progression,beyond the scope of this piece. Around the border of the vastumandala there are 32squares, each with a presiding deity, to stand for the cardinal and intermediatedirections. This border represents the passage of the moon in its complete cycle.

TwoVastupurushamandalaplans fromarchitecturaltexts.

Drawings fromGeorgeMichell's book

The HinduTemple

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INTERACTIVE FUNCTIONS OF FRACTALS IN THE HINDU TEMPLE

COMPLEX

There are many different sizes of temples in India, from small village temples to vasturban temple compounds. Traditionally the temple has been the most prominentreligious institution in India. Each one in its own way is a center of educational,

cultural, social and economic activities. Ritual worship (usually not donecongregationally but performed for small groups of pilgrims throughout the day) atsunrise, noon, sunset and midnight, as well as other times, activates the divinepresence, with offerings of light, fragrance, music, food, flowers and chanting. Thetemple is the place for solemn vows, initiations, legal oaths; it is a refuge in times ofsoul-searching and solace seeking, a place for thanksgiving when prayers areanswered, a place of well-being and prosperity, order and meaning.

The Hindu temple is an attractor with a variety of visual aspects, and wherever oneengages one of them, entering a doorway, circumambulating (ritually walking

clockwise around the whole edifice while intently gazing upon parts of it), orapproaching the inner sanctuary, or worshipping there-- one is accessing an aspectof the whole. The dynamic is like that of a complex system with multiple feedbackflows each giving access into the whole system of metaphysical vision. The templeoffers means of engagement in the nuances of the mystery, depending on the stageof development of the pilgrim; a child arriving for the first time experiences certainaspects according to her capabilities, while an elder returning after many previousvisits experiences others.

The spaces of the HIndu temple involve a dynamic system of traffic flows andfeedback loops organized to give a variety of ritual activities, involving the

worshippers' mental and physical interactions. "A Hindu temple is a synthesis ofmany symbols. By their superposition, repetition, proliferation and amalgamation, itstotal meaning is formed ever anew."(31) This capacity for ever-changing recursiveexperiences is a vital aspect of Hindu temples, and is often ignored by observersbecause it is easier to think of the temple as a static structure. The many pilgrimsarrive from different backgrounds and locations, each experiencing different aspectsof the whole-- yet each aspect can reflect to some extent the whole, or lead furtherinto it. There is a constant renewal over the generations, through the repetition ofbasic Hindu rituals, the rededication to ideals, and the perpetuation of thephilosophical views-- thus the temple serves to inspire. It enacts the mystery that

seems to be at the heart of India-- the simultaneous co-existence of the One and themany, the many and the One. It works to help the many pilgrims envision the One inthe many, the One found in each one.




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Among the examples of ways temple features function to Involve pilgrims are what Iwould call "Fractals of Circumambulation." By that I mean the recursive action ofwalking repeatedly around the structure intently looking at its features and thinking ofits meanings. "In the rite of circumambulation [the pilgrim] draws and becomes theoutermost perimeter of the building; he 'com-prehends' it while walking round it, seesthe images not from one side but covers them by his look, one at a time, during hisapproach and onward progress; while he identifies images thereby evoking its name,the total power of the place which the image occupies is sent as it were into hispresence from the centre of his devotion."(32) This recursive action of circling thestructure, and also circling the sanctum sanctorum within it, involve wholenessapproached through the parts, interiorizing and reflecting on the meaning accordingto individual attainment. It is a communion incorporating the sacred through mentalintention while returning around and around. (Similarly in puja the worshipper movesa flaming lamp of camphor around and around the sacred image while bells are rungand songs are sung.)

A description of some of the details can help us understand the practice ofcircumambulation further. The main body of the temple often gives an impression offullness; swarming with figures it suggests infinity of being. "The sculptures on theoutside of the Prasada are stationed around its body, and while they give anexposition of its meaning they are also its ornaments. By their sequence they formbelts around the body (akriti) of the entire temple and its several projections. Thelatter often form part volumes of their own, massive monumental supports ofminiature replicas of the whole temple, each with its own superstructure (shikhara,

A templein Banaraswith self-similarspirescomposedof smallerandsmallerspires,suggestingthe idea of

underlyingunity.

Photo byWes Tedrow




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sringa) thus the ultimate meaning of the temple is brought near to the devotee; aevery turn he sees the figures on the walls forming the basis of an ascent towardsone high and central shape."(33) At every step, from every angle one sees fractalglimpses of the whole, partial perspectives on the total and ultimate-- thisarchitectural arrangement helps the pilgrim keep the purpose of the visit in view. Theimages in a temple are re-produced on different scales. Large scale images remain in

the sanctum, and smaller scale images are taken out for procession during festivals.Reproductions can be taken home by pilgrims. In the temple "tanks" outside templesin South India there are often pavilions resembling the temple rising up out of thepools of water.

At festivals there are similarly shaped tall chariots wheeled through streets, likemobile offspring of the temple.

A SouthIndiantemplebathingpool withtemple-likepavilions.

Photo byMarcia

PlantJ ackson

A chariotfestival inKadugodivillage,Karnataka,South




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Thus, reflection on the fractal qualities of the architecture makes Hinduism's grasp of

the whole, and Hinduism's ultimate vision, more comprehensible. "Such anunderstanding of monumental form by the ritual encompassing movement is arealization as much by the eye as within one's whole living person in motion."(34)Thus, there is made available a holistic progression toward the goal of Hinduism--oneness-- involving the whole person, eyes envisioning, mind devotedly intent, legstaking steps, hands in prayers, and so on.

Also, the repeated motifs carry associations with the cyclical time scheme of Hinduworldviews. "This overlapping of cycles of time and repetition of cosmic eras findsvisual expression in the forms of the temple, where architectural and sculptural motifsrepeatedly appear in different sizes in different parts of the building."(35) Thisresonance of self-similar geometry and multiple cycles of time is another reason forrecursion in Hindu designs. Hindu intuitions that the timebound cosmos is cyclical--on vast scales the four cosmic ages wheel round and round, and on a smaller scaleindividuals are born again and again, as well. There are seasons, cycles of the moon,cycles of day and night, cycles of breath...

Furthemore, in the lives of Hindus there are ritual counterparts to the kind ofrecursion which recapitulates the main shape of the prasada again and again,

India. Thechariotbeingpulled isshaped

like aSouthIndiantemple

Photo byMarcia

J ackson




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reflecting the whole pattern. For example, phases in an individual's life cycle aremarked by major turning points, rites of passage, such as the baby's namingceremony, the initiatory thread ceremony, the wedding ceremony, and the retirementceremony. As part of the wedding ceremony there is the recapitulation of the earlierrites. I was told by Hindus that the ceremonies are re-iterated, with Sanskrit prayersbeing said again by the officiating priest, in case they were previously omitted or done

improperly, to provide a sense of completeness, and for general religious merit. Atthe rituals for reaching the ages of sixty and eighty the previous rites are repeated,including the wedding. The hymn of the Cosmic Person (Rig Veda X.90) is used inthe sixteen main samskaras, as the sacrificial origin of creation is repeated in allsignificant acts. This capacity for re-iterative experience is vital to Hindu treaditions.Perhaps it is the Hindu way of accomodating human nature's recurrect need for asense of completeness at various points in the It is difficult to imagine fully howrepetition make the structures of Hinduism not static but dynamic unless one ispresent to observe the practices. In a sense the temple is rather like a fractalexpression of the whole ethos of Hinduism.

There are other nuances of religious intentions too, in the deliberate fractal-likedesigns and other forms of mathematical recursiveness in Hindu temples. Thesystems dictated by the orthodox lawbooks are the means used to control theproportions of the dimensions of the temple. An important feature of these systems isthe standard unit of measurement, often known as a "finger" or angula, "from whichare derived the dimensions of the sanctuary or the height of the image of the deityhoused there." The number of these "fingers" is what "regulates the masses of thetemple as they extend upwards and outwards from the sanctuary. Every part of thetemple, therefore, is rigorously controlled by a proportional system of measurementand interrelated by the use of the fundamental unity." The measurements are

deliberately not exactly symmetrical.(36)

This proportional harmonization of design is of utmost importance in the constructionof a temple because the power of the place is thought to depend upon correctmeasurement. Faith in orthodoxy spelled out in the traditional texts and theorthopraxy of the interpreters and master craftsmen involves a deep belief. "Only ifthe temple is constructed correctly according to a mathematical system can it beexpected to function in harmony with the mathematical basis of the universe. Theinverse of this belief is also held: an architectural text, the Mayamata, adds that if themeasurement of the temple is in every way perfect, there will be perfection in the

universe as well."(37) Thus, the well made temple radiates well being; the welfare ofthe world surrounding the sacred location depends on the temple's well organizedexactness for auspicious energy. Thus, human beings play a part in maintaining thecosmic order.

Exact arrangements of numbers are crucial in Hindu temple design. The square of 4 -- 16 -- is considered a perfect number, and it that square of squares is marked out inthe Vastupurusha mandala, but the square of 8 units is also significant.(38) "All themain horizontal as well as vertical proportions are referred to the Mulasutra, the basic




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width... This is differently expressed; the area of the Prasada is to be divided into 16(First Norm) or 64 (Fifth Norm) squares; its width is 4 or 8 units respectively andrefers in either case to the Vastumandala called Manduka. All the proportions hereform octaves; the width of the Garbhagriha being 2, that of the Prasada is 4, this isalso its height; it is a perfect cub and from it rises the Shikhara to twice this height;the wall measuring 4, the Shikhara has 8 units in height. The geometrical

progression: width of Prasada or height of wall; and height ofshikhara links thetemple in its horizontal and vertical extent and interrelates their main parts.Analogous is the proportion between the thickness of the wall, its internal andexternal width. The ratio 2:1 or the Octave is the leading theme of the First Norm asgiven in the Vishvakarma prakasha text; with it is interwoven the Fifth Norm, as thetotal height of this kind of temple is three times the width of the Prasada, the height ofthe Shikhara being 2/3 of it."(39) The square is said to be the measure of man,because a person with arms extended to the sides reaches out as wide as his body istall.

Thus a sacred mathematics is of great importance in this practical art, a math"composed of a language of precise measurements, which permits a symbolicrealization of the underlying cosmic ideas."(40) It is said in a treatise that by itselfknowledge of the traditional science and the meanings entailed in it and mastery ofthe craft do not make a perfect architect. That complete mastery also requiresimmediate intuition, a readiness of judgement or wise decision in the midst of life'scontingencies. Complete mastery also requires the talent of fusing the therequirements, meanings and unique opportunities into the requirements of the whole.(41) Thus, following the rules faithfully and improvising wisely are both necessary forthe true architect, who adapts the timeless ideal to the materials, needs of thesituation in his specific time and place.(42) There is thus great variety as well as

underlying unity in Hindu temples.

AROUND, INWARD, UPWARD at KANDARIYA TEMPLE

To reiterate and carry further the points made thus far, let us imagine a visit toKandariya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho, Central India.

On the horizon as you approach the 11th century temple dedicated to MahadevaKandariya ("Shiva as Lord of the Cave"), you notice the rising spires of the templesilhouette are very much like mountain peaks. But it is an idealized mountain, withpleasing ornamental symmetries, using a more regular geometry than the crags of

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most mountains. Light from the sky seems to be playing in the spaces between thepeaks, like streams of life-waters flowing from the heights, down through the space ofempty valleys from the Himalayan heights.

You remove your sandals and wash your dusty feet in the cool water of the templetank to the left of the temple, when you arrive.

Built up on a stone platform, the temple has an entrance above the ground level, thusyou must climb a long flight of stairs to approach the structure, and this gives you afeeling of exerting yourself to rise up higher and higher. The temple is considered aspiritual axis where earth and heaven meet, so the pilgrim's progress here isassociated with arriving Kailasa, the heavenly realm of Shiva. The Kandariya templecontours in silhouette make a fractal impression. Some parts are even reminiscent offeatures in the Mandelbrot set.

The supreme shikhara or spire of utmost aspiration is made up of smaller scaleselfsimilar subsidiary shikharas, rising from yet smaller ones. The eye is drawn up

higher to the utmost peak, the main point of the whole which is reflected in the parts.This is a vision of the cosmic mountain, center of the world. The ideal form sogracefully artificed suggests the infinite rising levels of existence and consciousness,expanding sizes rising toward transcendence above, and and at the same timehousing the sacred deep within. The gated enclosures-within-enclosures enshrine theinner sanctum, which for Hindus holds an external likeness of the inmost depths ofdivine mystery.

Gazing at the shikharas we are struck by the beauty. The mountain peaks aregeometrically finessed, ornate, describing a fancy edge between our time and spaceand the perfection of eternity and infinity. Perhaps, it is as if ordinary people areprivileged to see the glorious mountain reflected in the consciousness of the illuminedsage. The temple, like all Hindu cosmic images, is a microcosmic reflection of the

.

The rising,

fractal-likeshikharasofKandariyatemple inKhajuraho.

Photo fromStellaKramrisch'sbook, The

HinduTemple




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play and patterns of consciousness in the pool of time, a context in which pilgrimscan locate themselves and make their way further on the inner journey to inmostdepths, to approach closer and glimpse spiritual truth, the beyond which abideswithin.

As we circumambulate the mountain tilt back your head and see how the mountains

are full of figures-- populated by sculptures of Shiva, the Goddess, saints, musicians,dancers. There are also images of loving couples exhibiting the erotic powers of life.(43) The Hindu temple is a geometric structure meant to bring the divine within reach,and to take man to the heights beyond. Thus, it is a carved stone embodiment ofarchetypal life's fecund profusion and phototropic thrust, guarded by phantasmagoricimages of power. It is a place which celebrates and seeks to propel spiritualevolution.

At the door we remember that the rite of Garbhadhana was performed before thistemple was built. A small silver or gold casket with dimensions proportionate to thecompleted temple, its base divided into compartments like the Vastumandala,containing auspicious and representative items such as gems, metals, soils, herbs,and a symbol of the presiding deity, with an image of the serpent of infinity ("Ananta")on the floor, and on the lid a mandala of the earth with its seven continents, oceansand mountains was buried amid chanting in the temple wall to the right of the door,above the level of the first row of stones.(44) So once again within the overallstructure, a miniature temple with symbols of its powers stands embedded in thetemple, hidden like a fractal seed of the temple's life and character. And in the centralcompartment is a symbolic seed with meanings related to the underlying power oforigin of the casket.(45) There are recursive ritual actions involved in the "seed rites"which are performed before the building the temple, before the last stone is placed in

the superstructure, before the main image is installed, and before the consecration ofsacred vessels.(46)

Entering the mountainous temple from the East, one steps through a series of evermore sacred enclosures, moving deeper into the most sacred area. One is attractedtoward the centermost inner sanctum which is thought to radiate subtle energy in fourdirections. One arrives at the cave-like holy of holies. The Lingam/yoni at the heart isseen here in the shadows, where flowers are offered, and cool libations, and thewhite light of burning camphor. The Lingam/yoni at the heart of the temple is alsoconsidered to co-incide with the antarjyoti or inner light at the heart of worshippers,

the divine mystery of timeless transcendent power poking through into this world oftime. This is the core of the Kandariya temple-- a symbol of a vision of wholeness--Shiva and Shakti in union, Spirit and Body, God and Creation together as the One,ultimate reality. The aniconic image radiates power upwards to the heavens, and alsoresonates in the pilgrim's inner reality with the idea of knowing one's Self (Atman),conceived in Hinduism as eternal consciousness. (This is like the Christian teachingthat "The kingdom of heaven is in the heart"). One circles the sanctum, circling theuniverse, thereby symbolically circling the divine, touched and hushed by the sacredspace. Through these recursive acts the Hindu hopes to make contact with the




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sacred and to remain in contact with the higher Self, even after leaving the sacredprecincts.

Circling the light, going around the image in the inner sanctum, and being circled bythe light, symbolically being born from the "womb room" into the light, going from themountain to the light beyond-- worshippers involve themselves in these processes.Pilgrims enact the process, recognizing the order, ritually progressing from this worldof time, fromsamsara to moksha, eternal light. The theme of seeking the light, findingand being inspired by the light, is very ancient in Hindu traditions. It is expressed inthe universal prayer which summarizes the Vedas: "Om, in these three realms, earth,atmosphere, and beyond, we meditate on the glorious light which causes the sun toshine, may that light impel our thinking, flow in our thought-stream." it is expressed atthe thread ceremony which initiates Hindu youths into full-fledged membership in theadult community, when a circle of string through which the initiate's head andshoulder emerge, symbolizing the sun-door or thye portal to the beyond. Thusinitiation symbolizes a partial advance to that spiritual; light. It is expressed in theimage of stolen cows of light hidden in a mountain cave described in Vedic verses.These cows are liberated by Indra to come out like the light-filled clouds of dawn. It isexpressed in the temple puja of waving lights and practices through which thepiulgrim enters the light and emerges again with the light of transcendence.

The aspirations of the Vedas, which at first and for a long time, had no permanentstructures to represent them, eventually were articulated in wood and then stone. The

Vedic prototype rises up from images in Vedic chants and horizontal designs of firealtars into vertical visibility. As Stella Kramrisch puts it: "A living memory builds thebuttresses of the Hindu temple in a pattern similar to that in which the bricks were laidin the Vedic Altar... With the prototype of the Vastumandala as the tonic, the groundplan is laid out rhythmically 1.)from the centre, 2.)along its perimeter and 3.)oncemore from there in rhythms in which is summed up the inner impact of movement; itacquires visibility on the outside of the building which is clasped by its indentationsand arises in the gradations of its planes... The architectural rhythms of the Hindutemple impart to each building its consistency and wholeness. They evoke in the

Color

image oftheKandariyatemple,Kajuraho.

Photocourtesy ofofficialtemplephotographer




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devotee (bhakta) and adjustment of his person to its structure; his subtle body(sukshma sharira) responds to the proportions of the temple by an inner rhythmicalmovement. By this 'aesthetic' emotion the devotee is one with the temple; andqualified to realize the presence of God."(47)

The temple offers an aesthetically designed location for experiences, ways to act and

to be acted upon. It shows the pilgrim the mountain of his or her aspiration. It givespilgrims an approach to the cave of inward penetration. It returns Hindus to theground of the cosmic person whose reconstitution is the finding of original unity, thelight beyond and within. It gives one the experience of darshan, to see oneself beingblessed by the glance of light upon one, and to witness the brilliant light of burningcamphor. It gives the pilgrim a momet to ech with the priest's prayer, and to smellsuch auspicious fragrances as incense and ghee, camphor and honey, flowers andcoconuts. (At Tirupati there may also be the aroma of laddus -- gram, ginger andjagary.) The temple's purpose is to awaken a timeless person to go forth again intocreation, refreshed by experiencing anew the human/cosmic situation in structures ofsacred geometry, including many recursive patterns. The archetypal symbols fused inthe temple architecture work on the Hindi pilgrim both cosciously and unconsciously.with multiple possibiities for dramatic and subtle encounters concentrated in onefractal-like integrative sacred space.(48)

Ideally, inthe Hindutemplethesacreddescendsto earthandhumansascendto the

spirtualrealm.

CollagebyWilliam J .J ackson




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Designers must make a very large number of decisions when a public monumentalstructure is erected. The natural source and inspiration for these decisions can befound in the traditional worldview, the time-honored values of the society. That legacyis expressed and celebrated in the work. Architecture needs to be configured in thecontext of the dynamics of the cosmos, oriented to the directions, adjusted to theplanets, symbolically showing attunement to a higher order. The temple provides aplace where the self can seek fulfilment in larger contexts. The temple, with its

interactive circuit in space and its symbol system of participation leads the pilgrimfurther into the unknown aspects of being. In the temple's precincts one isencouraged to let go of the supremacy of the calculative mind and the overlypurposive narrow waking consciousness. In reaching the center of sacredness oneadmits one's limits, submits to mystery and providence beyond one's control. Thereone can hope to be attuned to the larger reality. Worship opens one to reverentsurrender. As Christians say, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Like other complex practices in India the temple structure is a kind of language which




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makes more and more sense when one learns the vocabulary or symbol system ofideas involved. Much is encoded in the mathematics of structure, the life in the stone,infinity in the finite, the beyond in the within. In a sense, the temple is a fractal part ofthe whole of Hinduism, reflecting in architectural shapes and scales self-similaraspects of the total pattern and the ultimate vision. The whole is reflected andcelebrated in the parts.

NOTES

This collage of upward-gazing faces shaped like a mountain is based on a facedrawn by A.K. Coomaraswamy.

Collage by William J . J ackson

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1. An archetype is a symbol so deep and pervasive in many peoples experiences,worldviews and stories, that it is for all intents and purposes universal-- such as thechaotic primordial waters in so many stories of origin, and the mountain or mound ofform rising from formless waters. These images appear in a great variety of forms indifferent cultures, with different names and nuances. See the work of Carl J ung formore on the meaning of archetype. Carl. G. J ung, Psychological Reflections, J olande

J acobi, ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1961, pp. 36-45. Hillman emphasizes thedynamic valuing quality of the term archetypal. J ames Hillman,A Blue Fire, New

York: HarperPerennial, 1991, p. 26.

2.Readers seeking more details and depth are directed to Stella Kramrischs twovolume study The Hindu Temple, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980. For anotherwebsite on Hindu temple designs see "Vastu Shastra and Sacred Architecture," bySwami B.G. Narasingha athttp:wwwgosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/nmj_articles/sacred_architecture/vastuFor a Sanskrit text see Mayamata of Mayamuni, Trivandrum: Trivandrum SanskritSeries, 1919. In most of the Vastishastras, Shiva is the revealer of the science ofarchitecture.

3.Philippe Petit, Visionaries Dare to Take the Catwalks, New York Times, May 10,2002, p. A33.

4.Michael Tobias book, Mountain People, Norman, London: University of OklahomaPress, 1987, on the experiences associated with higher elevations, includingHimalayas, is excellent. See also Michal Tobias and Harold Drasdo, The MountainSpirit, London: V.Gollancz, 1980. Mircea Eliade has written about the archetype, forexample in Patterns of Comparative Religion, tr. R. Sheed, New York: New American

Library, 1974, pp 99-111. For a non-Himalayan example of thearchetypal mountainimage in India see discussions of Arunachala mountain in Talks with Sri RamanaMaharshi, Tiruvanamalai: Sri Ramanasram, 1978, pp. 14, 125, 178, 180-2, 228, 230,416, 418, 509-11. J oseph Campbell, The Mythic Image, Princeton N.J .: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1974, p. 72 ff. On the experiential level the shamans trance at thecenter of early human religious life is often associated with heights. See also R.Bradley, The Archeology of Natural Places, London: Routledge, 1998. And E.Bernbaum, Sacred Mountains of the World, Berkeley: University of California Press,1998. Daniel Davenport's thesis, "The Development of Scale Independent, Self-Similar Patterns in Khmer Architecture and the Utilised Landscape: And Exploration

of Fractal Geometry Through GIS" for the University of Sydney, Australia, exploresfractal structures in sacred space. See also Patrick George, "Counting Curvature: thenumerical roots of North Indian temple architecture..." in the journal Res, vol. 34,Autumn, 1998, pp. 129-142.

5.George Michell, The Hindu Temple, p. 69.

6.Hollywood films sometimes use fractal programs to create visually realisticmountain ranges. Michael McGuires book, An Eye for Fractals, offers photographs




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and a discussion of fractal mountains.

7.Ramesh Chandra Majumdar,Ancient India, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1964, pp.462-3.

8.Ibid.

9.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I, p. 220.

10.Stella Kramrisch put the experience of multiple scale shikharas like this: One typeof temple has the multiples of its own form set forth in the four directions; theyascend moreover from the corners, and each time to the same height as theUromanjaris [the chest of the main shikhara]; they are accompamied furthermore inthis massed competition towards the apex, by lesser replicas at the base, attaining tosmaller fractions of the height while they reinforce on their own, lower levels theurgency of the ascent. Each of these multiple replicas has a neck, amalaka and finial[crowning ornament on the upper extremity]; while these terminate the single forms,

they punctuate the striving of the entire mass of the superstructure toward the finalpoint which lies beyond the trunk, whatever its height. p.211 With their curves thestone built shikharas of the Khajuraho temples arise and reiterate in their complexorganization the perennial meaning of the Tabernacle of the forest. p. 207.

11.Huston Smith used the recursive patterns of three categories and a transcendentin his book the Religions of Man (later retitled as The Worlds Religions. Subash Kakwrote of this also in a paper at the websitewww.ee.lsu.edu/kak/wish-post Also, McKim Marriot wrote about this pattern in IndiaThrough Hindu Concepts: New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1990, pp. 1-41, as have I in

an as-yet unpublished work, entitled "Other Shore Fractals.".

12.Rig Veda, I 164.46.


14.Significantly the English word altar is derived from a word meaning high as canbe seen in the related word altitude. As axis of life joining earth to heaven this areamay also have symbolisms of column, spine, tree, central towering link betweenrealms.

15.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I p. 143. A tirtha is a placewhere the sacred crosses over into the world, within human reach.

16.Svetashvatara Upanishad 2.10. Olivelle tr.

17.Katha Upanishad 2.12.

18.Katha Upanishad 5.6. The Upanishadic view is that the unborn formless divine




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Person, radiant, vast, the inner and outer of all, the source of all, including planets,beings, waters, plants, etc. All this is simply that Person-- rites, penance, prayer(brahman), the highest immortal, One who knows this, my friend hidden within thecave, cuts the knot of ignorance in this world. (Mundaka Upanishad 2.1.10) Thoughmanifest, it is lodged in the cave, this vast abode named Aged. In it are placed thiswhole world; in it are based what moves or breathes. (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.1)

19.Mundaka Upanishad 2.3.7.


21.This citation is from Stella Kramrisch.



24.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I, p. 70-71. George Michell, The HinduTemple, p.70. There are also stories of an Asura purusha who receives a boon fromShiva-- always to be worshipped first.

25.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol. I, p. 7

26.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol. I, p. 71



29.The word Sanskritpurusha means pervading a city, and a divine city, such asAyodhya (meaning the impregnable) is also represented symbolically in manytemple plans.



32.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. II, p. 301.

33.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. II, p.302.

34.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol. II, p.303.


36.George Michell, The Hindu Temple, p. 73. "Hindu temples are not quitesymmetrical: The legend goes that too much perfection would make the gods jealous.




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But is the real reason not, in truth, that the 'perfection' of a work of art stems fromcontrolled imperfections in the details, just as happens in Nature? Is it not becausetrue perfection is sterile, while measured imperfection begets novelty?" Trinh XuanThuan, Chaos and Harmony, (tr. Axel Reisinger), New York: Oxford University Press,2001.

37.George Michell, The Hindu Temple, p.73.

38.Stella Kramrisch, TheHindu Temple, vol. I. p.47.

39.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I p. 237 and ff. See also pp. 261 ff.


41.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I p. 8.

42.Authoritative sources for images suggesting fractal scaling in Hinduism includeA

Project on Agama, Alaya and Aradhana, Agama-Khosa (Agama Encyclopedia). S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Bangalore: Kalpatharu Research Academy Publication, 198?;Devendra Natha Shukla, Hindu Science of Architecture, 2 vols. Lucknow: Vastu-Vanmaya-Sala, 1960. Devendra Natha Shukla, The Vastu Sastra, New Delhi:Munshiram Manoharlal, 1998.

43.The erotic themes in these temples convey archetypal attraction, lifes potencyand vitality, fecudity and creativity. as a force for protection. Life power expressed inthe dramatic interplay of genders makes the stone figures strangely dynamic-- agenerative flourish celebrating couplings, god and goddess genitals joined in grace.

The energetic beauties of abundance in blissful rhythmic self-forgetfulness draw thepilgrim into contemplations lifes prolific force and mystery.

44.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I, 126-8.

45.It is the Seed of the Supreme Principle, in its triple aspect, as Bindu the point-limitbetween the unmanifest and the manifest, which is beyond perception; as Nada, in itssubtle aspect as the basic substance or principal vibration; in its gross aspect, as Bijait is the seed of everything. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I, p. 128.

46.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. I p. 15.

47.Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. i pp. 232, 253.

48. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol. i. "When the building is completed andconsecrated, its effigy in the shape of a golden man, the Prasada-purusha, isinstalled in the Golden jar, above the Garbhagriha, above the Shukanasa. The effigyis invested with all the Forms aned Principles of manifestation. While theVastupurusha 'Existence' lies at the base of the temple and is its support, the GoldenPurusha of the Prasada, its indwelling Essence, sum total of all of the Forms and




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Principles (tattva) or manifestation and their reintegration lies in the superluminousdarkness of the Golden jar on top of the temple below the point limit of the manifest.In supernal radiance, the golden Purusha of the Vedic Altar (Taittiriya SamhitaV.2.7.1) appears raised from the golden disc-- of the sun-- within the bottom layer ofthe Agni to the finial above the superstructure of the Hindu temple. The ascension ofthe Golden Purusha cancels the descent of the Vastupurusha. Within these two

movements the Hindu temple has its being; its central pillar is erected from the heartof the Vastupurusha in the Brahmasthana, from the center and heart of Existence onEarth, and supports the Prasada Purusha in the Golden jar in the splendor of theEmpyrean. Its mantle carries, imaged in its varied texture, in all directions all theforms and principles of manifestation towards the Highest Point above the body of thetemple." Pp. 360-361.


hindu temple fractals - vastu n carl jung

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